Greenline

10

Wednesday, May 4th. 6:48 pm.

Isaac's parents liked me. They adored me, actually. I knew he hated it but I couldn't be more ecstatic about it. While my own parents were clearly still against my new relationship, the fact that I had won over Isaac's was a victory I was planning to keep celebrating.

I was supposed to be picking him up at seven for a date. I was going to grab food from a restaurant and then drive us out to one of the most beautiful places to see another sunset together in our quaint town. I felt like I owed him after all he had done for me on my birthday, and I knew there was nothing that Isaac Kingsley liked more than a sky comparable to miracles.

I was almost ready to head out to my car when my phone rang, his name popping up under the Caller ID. I answered it cheerfully. "Hey, Babe–"

"Ethan," the gasp made my heart jolt and I immediately knew something was wrong.

"Isaac? Are you okay?" I asked, despite knowing that he hated when people asked him that. My heart was bursting out of my chest because I knew how Isaac usually sounded and right now he didn't sound right.

A horrible noise that I later realized was him coughing crackled through the phone. He was breathing heavily and it worried me even more. "I need you, I need you," he rambled. I remember thinking that he sounded like he was crying.

He had stopped talking but I was already grabbing my jacket and my keys. I didn't even take the time to lock our front door as I rushed to my car. Please let the damned thing start, I kept begging whatever higher power there might be in this universe. "Where are you?" I asked him, harsher than I meant to.

"Home," he wheezed before breaking out into another fit of coughs.

"Is anyone there with you?" I kept him talking while slamming my key into the ignition so he wouldn't hear how labored my breaths were getting with my panic. The car chugged once, twice, before it finally began to hum.

"No– my parents... they're out." Isaac sounded so broken and I couldn't help but speed. I drove the two miles between our houses in record time.

I didn't hang up until I was in his house. As soon as I flung open the front door, which I was thankful was unlocked, I heard him cry out in pain. The yell rang out through the house.

I'm not a very active person, but I sprinted up the stairs and swung myself around the bannister. I found him in his bedroom, a place I'd seen only twice before.

He was curled up in the corner of the room, leaning against the wall with a hand gripping his side. He was shaking so violently that I wanted to give him a blanket until I got nearer and realized how feverish he was before I even touched him.

"Ethan?" He croaked as he looked up at me, like what he was seeing might not really be there. I was immediately by his side, hugging him tightly for a few heartbeats.

"I'm here," I muttered, moving to pull away. The grip Isaac had taken on my hoodie prevented me from doing so. I was going to examine him, but he looked so fragile that I just continued to hold him close. "What's wrong?" I asked gently, not wanting to anger him.

"My stomach hurts," he stammered, "It's h-hard to breathe."

"Why didn't you call your parents?" I asked. I managed to pull back one arm and fished my phone out of my pocket. He frowned when he noticed this.

"What are you doing?"

I sighed, knowing the look he was giving me all too well. It was his I-don't-need-to-be-treated-like-I'm-going-to-die-even-though-I-probably-am look. "Calling an ambulance, Isaac," I said matter-of-factly.

"Please, don't," he was so desperate, but I knew I couldn't honor his pleas. I didn't doubt that he would attempt to stop me from calling, despite how weak he was, so I stood up to dial 911. "No more hospitals, I can't do any more God damn hospitals!" he shouted through the house, as if that would stop me.

"Nine-One-One, what's your emergency?" The operator asked me. I almost choked up and panicked.

"I need an ambulance," I requested before giving Isaac's address. When I hung up, I could practically feel the glare that was lodged into my back.

I went back over to comfort Isaac as we waited, but he shoved me away the best he could and wiped tears from his eyes. I didn't know if I had caused them or it was due to his pain.

"Isaac-" I tried, but he was quick to cut me off.

"No one ever asks what I want," he screamed, taking advantage of the empty house. He sounded so broken that I wanted to break apart myself.

I paused in the quake of his echoed yowls, shaken as he glared. "So you want to die?" I reasoned, voice just slightly quieter than his. I would let him yell. Hell, I think I would have even let him punch me if that's what he needed to do. He deserved to be angry. This wasn't fair to him, and I knew that. Everyone knew that.

I didn't like the way Isaac fell silent, nor the way his lips closed. His eyes fell to my feet. I hated the feeling it gave me even more, like I had somehow failed him.

But I knew I hadn't. "Isaac–" I started.

"You don't have to wait around," he said with a sudden rush, his voice low. "You're not coming with me. You should probably just leave."

I was stunned, but I didn't move.

He didn't look at me once as he uttered, "Please, could you just do this one thing for me?"

I felt like someone had impaled an axe into my heart when I realized he wasn't going to be unconvinced. His words spun in my brain and I found myself questioning everything I'd ever done with him that I thought was right. Unable to do anything but sigh in his refusal to make eye contact, I fought every instinct in my body and left him in that room.

The dark hall felt like a taunt from that enormous house as I left the door wide open behind me and went towards the stairs. My feet wouldn't let me take that first step without checking back again. Our eyes met for a split-second, Isaac's disdain smeared across his face before he ripped his gaze away.

Sirens had begun to haunt the woods. I forced myself to descend the staircase and exit back through the front door that hadn't swung closed. The air smacked against my face and exposed the hot streaks that had raced down my cheeks as my shoes scuffed the Kingsley's pristine porch.

When the ambulance pulled into his enormous driveway, I directed them up towards Isaac's room. But I knew Isaac didn't want me there, so I pulled out before the EMTs could come back out.